THE !• AllMERS' REGISTER. 



409 



Auixu-l llioio is a short time when the <Mrculiition 

 '.i lUMily inactive. It is (iiiiiiiir 'he iinoi-val be^ 

 J ween the smniiier mu\ (all <xiovvih. The haiK 

 -no loii<j;er runy any more tiiaii in winter; and the 

 tsap, insleatl of lnuiy thin ami walery as in the 

 preceding months, becoiiiesi eonceni rated and 

 viscid. I consider litis period a:j Ihc best time ul 

 llie whole year lor cutlmif limber. It nsiitiily 

 (locuis lioin the loth to the 'iOili of the tnonth, 

 a lew days earlier or later accoriiing to circum- 

 stances; and continues only Ibr a very short litno. 

 Close observaiion is necessary to ascertain it with 

 exactness. The proper rule is, when tlie bark 

 ceases lo run. 



1 have lie(piently Iiad limber cut in August for 

 liirmiiiir purposes. Such as <j;atc posts and other 

 thiiiL's much exposed tnihe action ol'the weather, 

 and I can testily that there is a compactness and 

 solidity in it when it becomes dried, which I have 

 never observed in wood cut ai other seasons. 

 My own experience does not extend I'arther back 

 than ten or twelve years-; but I have known se- 

 veral cases of remarkable durability, when the 

 timber has been cut accordinir to the old Dutch 

 rule, in Ihc'dark of Ihc maun in jJugusl ; which 

 is as near the time indicated as any person rely- 

 inir on lunar influences could approximate to it. 

 Every third year it might coincide with it almost 

 exactly. 



The period mentioned may also be used by 

 farmers to very f^reat advantaj^c, in destroy injr a 

 number oC pests. The simple beltinf? of a tree 

 will then so cHectually destroy life, that not a 

 sprout will afterwards put up from the stump or 

 roots. It is the only time at which I ever even 

 partially succeeded in subduing the shrub called 

 "round cap" {Ccphalanthus) which greatly iti- 

 lesls our meadows and lial grounds ; and which 

 usually grows from the smallest portion ol' root. 

 I had warred against it for years to no eliect, 

 nntil at last, by a single operation in Auiiust, 

 I totally eradicated it. The sassafras, elder, lo- 

 cust and other woody plants growing freely liom 

 the roots, and the bramble likewise, might no 

 doubt be edeclually extirpated with the same 

 lacility, and the oamc |)eriod might he selected 

 with equal propiicly Ibr shrubbing nevv grounds. 



T. S. 1'. 



ON IKIUGATIOIV. 



To Ihc Nalional fiialUulionfur Ihc piomolioii of 

 science. 



From ilic Souliicrii A^^iiculturisl. 



tVashinglun, y/prU2d, 1811. 

 Since the brief statement of the advantages of 

 iiiigatiou appeared in tny discourse dcliv^ered he 

 fore the institution in Jaimary last, I have re- 

 ceived so many applications Ibr inlbimalion on tln' 

 manner of watering land, that I anj induced to 

 believe a more extended notice of the subject 

 may be acceptable and useful.* 



* The discoui-se referred to above, described a sys- 

 Icin of practical irrigation, with illustratious, nuicli 

 of the same general character as was given in a ibr- 

 iner volume of the Farmers' Register, and on a much 

 more extended scale, from the work of olephciis 

 on Drainin? and Irrigation —Ed F R, 

 Vol. iX.-35' 



The numerous and abundani rivers, streams 

 and brooks which traverse our country in every 

 direction, allord great liicililicti Ibr irri^^ating (he 

 soil, and thousands of acres of barren land might 

 thereby be rendered as productive as uny in the 

 United States. 



The thin soils, which drain and dry easily, pro- 

 fit most by the use of water, and are the least 

 productive without it. The gravelly, sandy land 

 of Chile produces by in igation u|)wards of thirty^ 

 bushels of wheat (o the acre, and the poorlanda 

 i!i the neighborhood of Mexico are made e(|ually 

 productive by thi-^ process. The great advantage, 

 iiowever, to be tierived from the li'ee use of water 

 is not so much in the increase of grain, as in that 

 of grass crops. A water meadow attached to a 

 larm gives the farmer an abundance of manure 

 lor that portion of his land which he keeps in 

 tillage ; Ibr he may convert into dung the whole 

 of the hay it produces, while it requites nothing in 

 return but watering. 



In the Carolinaa and Georgia the low lands 

 bordering on the rivers are irrigated as high up aa 

 the influence of the tide exteiids lor the cultiva- 

 tion of rice. The water is admitted into ditches 

 parallel and perpendicular to the river, and ihence 

 distributed by lijeders over the whole surlace so aa 

 to drown the land, by opening the sluices when 

 the tide is rising; and after keeping it there ae 

 long as is deemed necessary, it is let olf at low 

 tiilc. This method might be practised with great 

 advantage on all the tide- water rivers throughout 

 our country where the banks are low enough to 

 admit the water at high tide. Flat lands that 

 have not the advantage of tide water are the 

 mo.st diificult to irrigate successfully, Ibr it ia 

 essential that when the water is let olf, the land 

 ahould be drained perli'ctly dry ; otherwise it will 

 produce coarse grass of inlerior quality. Land^ 

 that have a gentle slope, even sleep hill side, arc 

 belter adapted lor irrigation, as they admit of the 

 water flowing over them without covering the top 

 of the plants,, thus giving them the advantage of 

 air and moisture. A gentle current is considered 

 n)ore advantageous than stagnant water, and 

 the land thus situated will always drain dry when 

 the water ceases to How. On level land it ia 

 necessary to conduct ihe drain so (in that it may 

 enter the river low enough lo ensure a suliicient 

 tall to dry the land. 



Where the stream is rapid and the fall gicat, it 

 is not necessary to construct any dani ; but 

 simply lo tap the river Ingh enough up to lead the 

 water along (he highest part of the field ; but 

 where the current is sluggish the water must be 

 raised by a dam erected at the |)oint where it is to 

 be used. 



There are two methods of vvalcring lands. The 

 one by dividing the held iiil<j regular beds, and the 

 other by what ib called cakh w/oik, which is re- 

 .-sorted to wheie the Ibrm of the ground is irregu- 

 lar. It varies theielore with (he ciicumstancea ol 

 the li^nd it is proposed to water; but the conductors, 

 feeders and drains must be laid oul so as to profit 

 by (lie natural movements oltlicsoil both to watci 

 and to drain it. 



The first thing lo be done by the faimci who 

 desires to irrigate hh fields, is (o take an accuratt 

 level ol the ground he intenda (o water, so as to 

 compare tlie highest p m of ii wit!, the height of 

 llic water to be used. Tlie aur/dce ol the water 



